A Beautiful Mess
by addictedtocm
Summary: This is my collection of Morgan/Prentiss stories, each chapter is a separate story, they are not related to each other unless stated otherwise. They used to be in Our Crazy Life, but I moved them here. Constructive criticism is welcome.
1. Chapter 1

Derek waits patiently at the front of the church, his hands folded together neatly as he watches the door. "Are you nervous?" Hotch asks.

"No, I am getting a little impatient though." He grins.

"She's probably just fixing her hair."

"Come on Emily, he's waiting." JJ says to her best friend.

"I can't." She grips the arms of the chair.

"What do you mean you can't?" Penelope asks.

"I can't do this, it isn't right."

"You just have cold feet, once you see him, you'll feel better."

"You don't understand. I don't want to do this."

"I'll be right back." Penelope leaves JJ to handle Emily while she goes to find Derek. She opens the doors to the chapel and everyone turns to look at her. She gets to Derek and leans into him. "We are having a bit of a crisis."

"What is it?" Derek's eyes go wide.

"Just come." She takes his hand and leads him to the room with JJ and Emily.

"Babe, what's wrong?" Emily looks up at the sound of his voice and Penelope pulls JJ out of the room.

"I can't do this." Tears pool in her eyes.

"I thought this is what you wanted."

"I do, but not like this, not here." She wraps her arms around him. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." He rubs her bare shoulder. "Can you tell me why?"

"It's all wrong, I shouldn't be wearing a white dress, I shouldn't be in a church, and I definitley shouldn't be marrying you."

"Why can't you marry me?"

"Because you're too good Derek. You deserve someone better, less broken."

"Emily Prentiss, you are not broken. I love you more that anything in this entire world. You may have made so tough choices, but that doesn't make you a bad person. In my eyes you are perfect, who cares what anyone else thinks."

"My parents couldn't even make it."

"Screw them. If they can't take an hour of their time to see their daughter get married, then you don't need them. You have a chapel full of people waiting for you, are you going to let them down, or are you going to go out there and marry me?" She smiles at him.

"I'm going to marry you." She places a soft kiss to his lips before they walk out. The rest of the ceremony is a blur, neither one really focusing on the words, just each other, but there are two words that Derek does focus on.

"I do."


	2. Chapter 2

Emily lets out a content sigh as she stretched out in the large king sized bed in the middle of the room she's been sharing with Derek for almost 6 months. She usually awoke with her arms around his muscular frame, but right now he was off in another city fighting the bad guys while she is stuck at home, doing absolutely nothing. Of course it's her own fault, she quit her job in London so she could come back home,but now she had to find a new job and it wasn't going very well. She sees his office light flick on and she smiles, finally he is home. She gets out of bed and slips on her fuzzy house slippers on and walks quietly to the office. She peers in and he's sitting at his desk. She sneaks up quietly and wraps her arms around his shoulders and rests her head in the crook of his neck.

"Welcome home." She places a soft kiss just below his ear.

"It's good to be back." He grabs her hands and maneuvers her so she is sitting in his lap.

"Why didn't you come straight to bed?" She asks stroking his cheek with her hand.

"I just wanted to think about some things."

"Like what?"

"The case, it was a bad one."  
"Do you want to talk about it." He shakes his head. "Are you sure?"  
"I'm sure, at least not right now."

"Well, what if I give you something else to think about?"  
"Like what?"  
"Do you think we should paint the office pink or blue?"  
"Paint the..." His eyes widen as he realizes what she's talking about. "You're pregnant!" They had been trying to get pregnant for a few months now. They decided that now was the best time, Emily could stay unemployed for a little while longer, or get a desk job, while she is pregnant and when the baby was old enough, they'd hire a babysitter and she'd go back to work.

"I found out today. Are you happy?"  
"Of course I'm happy." He leans in a kisses her lips. "I can't believe it, we're having a baby." He places his hand over her still flat stomach. "There's a baby in there." Emily giggles and lays her hand over his. "Do you know how far along you are?"  
"No, I only had a blood test. I made an appointment for next week. We should find out then."

"I'm going to be a dad. I've got to call my mom."  
"Not tonight, it's late."  
"You're right, you should be sleeping. You've got to get enough sleep."  
"Derek. Calm down. I'm getting plenty of sleep." She stands up. "Now you should sleep, too. You look exhausted."  
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Derek stands at Emily's head as the doctor runs the paddle over Emily's flat stomach. Soon a fast paced thudding fills their ears. "That's the heartbeat." The doctor says.

"That is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard." Emily gushes and Derek leans down and places a kiss to Emily's cheek.

"Would you like to see your baby?"  
"Yes." They say in unison. The doctor points to a tiny peanut looking thing in the middle of the screen.

"That's your baby."  
"Wow." Derek leans closer to the machine. "I thought it look different."

"What? Like a full grown baby?"  
"Yeah, I guess something like that. Not just a little blob on the screen."

"It's our blob." Emily smiles at him and he leans down and kisses her.

"It is." He looks up at the doctor. "How far along is she?"  
"About eight weeks." The doctor grabs the print outs from the printer and hand them to Derek. "We're all done here, if you need anything at all or have any questions you can call me at my office anytime between 8 and 5. I know this is your first child, and you're welcome to call my cellphone anytime." He passes them a business card. "My number is on the back. You can make another appointment with my receptionist on your way out."  
"Thank you." Emily says taking a few tissues from the box and wiping off the goo.

"I have a question." Derek says and the doctor looks at him. "What is okay for her to do, physically?"  
"She can keep doing everything she's been doing and should be able to do them for a few more weeks while she's not showing. I know a lot of people think that as soon as a woman gets pregnant she has to stop all kinds of physical exercise or that she can't lift anything. That's not true, as long as Emily isn't putting too much stress on here body, she can still do everything. A fetus is a lot stronger than you think."

"What about sex?" Emily asks.

"Sex is safe, just don't use any type of unnatural lubricant or anything. It could be harmful to the fetus." Emily nods. "Anymore questions?" They look at each other and shake their heads.

"I think that answers all of our questions for right now." Emily says turning her head back to the doctor.

"Well, if you can think of anything else, just give me a call." He says gathering up his clip boards and lose papers.

"We will." Emily stands up and Derek takes her hand.

"You two have a nice day."  
"You, too." Derek says as they walk out. They make an appointment for next month and leave the doctors office.

"You are excited about this right?" Emily asks as they stop at a red-light.

"Of course I am, are you excited about it?"  
"Yes. I just didn't want you to think you were stuck with me if you didn't want this baby."  
"Emily Prentiss, I love you. I'm not stuck with you, I choose to be with you." He takes Emily's hand. "And I'll always choose to be with you."


	3. Chapter 3

Emily and Derek sit next to each other on the couch in Fran Morgan's tiny living room while she sat opposite them on the large chair and Sarah and Desiree sit on the floor in front of the large Christmas tree passing out gifts. Sarah hands Fran the last present, the one from Derek and Emily.

"The real present might take a while to get here, but there is a picture of it in there." Emily says and Derek takes her hand as they watch as she tears the shiny red paper from the box. She pulls the lid of the box off and reveals light blue tissue paper. She folds the paper back and takes out the picture frame. It's a black frame with white lettering that reads 'The best Moms get promoted to Grandma.' above a picture of one of Emily's sonogram.

"Is this for real?" She looks up at the smiling couple and they nod. "You guys." She looks at the picture frame. "I'm going to be a grandma." She squeals holding the frame to her chest as tears fall from her eyes.

"We're going to be aunts!" Sarah squeals pulling her sister into a hug, both of them crying. Derek looks at Emily who also has a tear falling down her cheek. He brings his thumb up and wipes away the lonesome tear.

"You okay?" He asks.

"I'm fine, just happy." She leans over and kisses him.

Fran sets the picture frame down and goes over to the couple. She grabs their joined hands and pulls them up into a hug. "I'm so excited for you." She kisses each of their cheeks before letting them go and sitting back down.

"How far along are you?" Desiree asks.

"About 16 weeks. We wanted to make sure everything was alright before we let anyone know."  
"Were your parents excited?" Sarah asks picking up the frame and looking at the picture.

"We haven't told them yet." Derek answers for Emily. "Her mother's out of town."

"Oh, what about your team?" Fran asks.

"You guys are the first we've told." Emily says. "We're telling our friends when we get back and we're telling my Mother when ever we can reach her." Fran nods.

Emily and Fran are sitting in the kitchen talking while Derek and his sisters sit in the living room watching TV. "How have you been feeling?" Fran asks handing Emily a mug of hot chocolate.

"Whoever decided to call it morning sickness should definitely re-think that. I've been nauseous all the time, but it's really bad at night."

"I was like that with Derek. I didn't get sick with either of the girls, but Derek he was a stubborn one." Emily chuckles. "He was worth it though. I'm sure you'll think the same thing."  
"I already do." Emily smiles as she runs her left hand along her slightly swollen stomach.

"Do you want a boy or a girl?"  
"As long as he or she is healthy."

"Everyone says that, but I know you secretly want one or the other, come on, boy or girl?" Fran asks sipping her hot chocolate.

"Honestly I'd love to have a little boy. I know Derek would really love to have a boy so he can teach him all about sports."  
"If you have girl Derek would still teach her all about sports. That's what Al did with the girls." Emily nods.

"Derek told me his Dad used to take them to all kinds of sporting events on his days off." Fran nods.

"He was a great Dad." Derek's voice startles both Fran and Emily and they jump. "Sorry, I didn't meant to scare you two." He walks over to them.

"That's okay, how come you're not watching your game?" Fran asks.

"It's over." He takes a seat next to Emily. "What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing really just talking." Emily says before picking up her hot chocolate and taking a drink.

"Is that Momma's famous cocoa?" Derek asks.

"It sure is." Fran speaks up.

"You didn't make your baby boy any?"  
"You were to engrossed in your game." She stands up with her now empty mug. "Would you like a cup?"  
"Yes please." Derek smiles at his mom and she smiles back.

"Emily, if you're child is anything like Derek, you're going to have your hands full." Fran says sitting a cup of the hot chocolate in front of Derek and taking her seat.

"Tell me about it." Emily says and she and Fran laugh.

The whole team, including Will, Henry, Jack, Austin, and Kevin are gathered in Rossi's living room celebrating their Christmas together. Emily and Derek sit across from Reid and Austin who are sharing the couch with JJ and Will, who is sitting on the arm of the over stuffed couch. Penelope sits in a chair while Kevin stands behind her. Henry and Jack are playing with their new toys while Hotch sits close by on a chair from the kitchen. Rossi joins them a few moments later with eggnog he passes them around and reclaims his seat next to Derek on the couch. "We've got one more thing." Emily says setting her eggnog down. "As much as I love your eggnog Rossi, I can't have anything year."  
"You're pregnant!" JJ exclaims and immediately covers her mouth. "Sorry."  
"It's okay, yeah, we're pregnant." She takes Derek's hand as the ladies in the group squeal with excitement. Penelope is the first to hug the couple. "Congratulations, I'm so happy for you."  
"Thank you." The rest of the group congratulate the happy couple and they all sit back down.

"How far along are you?" Penelope asks.

"16 weeks." Emily answers.

"And you're just now telling us?" JJ asks.

"We wanted to be sure everything was alright before we let anyone know." Derek says before sipping his eggnog.

"So I vote we all go shopping next weekend." Penelope states.

"I don't know about next weekend, but soon. We can make a girls day out of it."

"Why not next weekend?" JJ asks.

"We're telling my Mother next weekend."

"Ouch, have fun with that." Hotch says.

"Thanks, we'll need it."

Derek glances over at Emily, who is in the passenger seat of his car, and she is rubbing her hands down her pants for the fifth time in ten minutes. "It's not going to be that bad." He says and she looks up at him.

"You don't know my Mother." She looks out the front windshield. "Her unwed daughter is knocked up. This is just going to look great on her part."  
"Who cares about what she thinks Em," He takes her hand. "This is our lives not hers, she can either be happy and support us or she can stay out of it. Either way the only thing we really need is each other."

"I just want her to be happy for me one time." A tear falls from her cheek and hits Derek's hand and he glances over at her and back to the road.

"Don't cry Em." He squeezes her hand. "It's going to be okay."  
"It's just hormones." She wipes the tears from her eyes. "I swear."

"Okay." He rubs his thumb over her hand. "I love you."  
"I love you, too." He pulls into the Prentiss' house and Emily's heart speeds up. "Maybe we should just wait until the kid's eighteen and let him introduce himself."

"Don't be like that, I'm sure it'll be fine." He shuts the car off and they get out. They walk hand in hand to the front door and Derek rings the bell. A tall man with graying hair and brown eyes opens the door wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black button down.

"Is that my little girl?" He asks slipping on his glasses.

"You know it is Daddy." She lets go of Derek's hand as her Dad pulls her into a hug.

"I've missed you baby." He releases his grip on her.

"I've missed you, too." She turns to Derek and back to her Dad, "Dad, you remember Derek right?"  
"I do, how are you?" He extends his hand and Derek shakes it.  
"I'm well Sir, how are you?"  
"I'm fantastic, you two come in, it's a little chilly outside." They step inside the large house.

"Frank, who is it?" Elizabeth call from the kitchen.

"It's your daughter." He calls back. "Come say hello." The couple follow Frank into the living room. "She's cleaning up."  
"Okay." Emily and Derek sit down on the large couch and Frank sits across from them.

"Emily." She looks up at her Mother. "You're late."  
"I know, we got stuck in traffic." She stands and Derek follows suit. Emily extends her hand toward her Mother who shakes it, then Derek does the same before sitting back down. Elizabeth sits next to her husband.

"So what is it that you wanted to tell us?" She asks folding her hands over her crossed legs.

"We brought your Christmas presents." Emily pulls two identical boxes from her large purse and hands them to her parents. "I'm sorry it's so late, we tried to get here sooner, but you were out of town."  
"Yes, I had to work." Elizabeth says ripping the paper off the small box.

"We hope you like it." Derek says as he watches Emily's Dad take out the small picture frame that reads, 'Coming soon.' Above a picture of Emily's sonogram with 'June 2014' below it.

'You're pregnant!" He dad exclaims looking up at them with a shocked expression.

"Yeah, I hope you're not made." Emily says chewing her bottom lip.  
"Why would we be mad?" He asks setting the picture down and standing up.

"Because we're not married." She says and her Dad pulls her out of her seat and into a hug.

"So, you're giving me a grandchild. I'm so proud of you Em." He kisses the top of her daughter's head and looks at Derek who is now standing. "Congratulations." He extends his hand to Derek who takes it.

"Thank you." Frank lets go of Emily and she looks at her mother.  
"Mother, how do you feel?" She asks picking at her nails.

"I'm shocked." She stands up. "Congratulations." Emily's shocked when she pulls her into a hug.

"Thank you." She wraps her arms around her mother for the first time in a long time, maybe this baby would bring her closer to her mother, which is something she's always wanted.

"And Derek." She lets go of her daughter and takes the mans hand. "Welcome to the Family."

Everyone in the room smiles. "Thank you."


	4. Chapter 4

**Just so everyone knows, this is just a collection of stories, they are not in any order and do not relate to each other unless stated otherwise, sorry for the confusion.**

Derek was enjoying his Halloween, he had on a scary movie, a bowl of popcorn, and a cold beer. The only thing that could possibly make his night better was Emily, his girlfriend of three months, but she was at her Mother's annual Halloween party. There is a knock on his door and he pauses the movie, places his beer and popcorn on the coffee table and makes his way to his front door. "I'm out of candy." He says as he opens the door.

"That's to bad, I could use something sweet." His smile grows bigger when he sets his eyes on her.

"What are you doing here?" He asks opening the door for her to come in.

"I could go back to my Mother's boring party if you want." She says slipping off he coat revealing her Halloween costume, a tight black leather dress with a pair of cat ears on her head and a set of whiskers drawn on her cheeks.

"No, I prefer you here." He pulls her into a tight embrace and kisses her, they stay that way for a few moments before breaking apart.

"So are you really out of candy, or were you lying?" She asks walking into his living room.

"I might have a little left." He smirks picking up the orange pumpkin bowl and handing it to her as she sits on his couch, with his beer.

"Thanks." She takes the bowl and he sits next to her. "_Friday the 13th,_ really Derek?" She looks at him.

"Hey, it's a good movie." He grabs the bowl of popcorn and places it on his lap before leaning back and snaking his arm around Emily's shoulder and pulling her closer to him.

"It is." She takes a swig of the beer and sets it back on the table. "But, my favorite is _Halloween."_

"That one's good, too." He says shoving a handful of popcorn in his mouth. They fall into a comfortable silence and continue watching the movie. Derek grabs Emily's arms and yells when a scary part comes up. She screams and jumps up from the couch causing the bowl of candy to spill out onto the floor. Derek starts laughing.

"Damn-it Derek, that's not funny." She sits back down and punches his shoulder. "You could of gave me a heart-attack ass-hole." She folds her arms over her chest and glares at him, his eyes wet with tears of laughter.

"You couldn't of had a heart-attack." He wipes his eyes as his laughter subsides.

"You don't know that." She gets up from the couch.

"Where are you going?"

"Going to change my underwear, you scared the piss out of me." Derek chuckles.

"Come on, quit being dramatic, where are you going?"

"To change out of this tight ass dress." She heads down the hall and into Derek's bedroom, she is about to open the dresser drawer when the lights go out. "Derek, I'm serious, knock it off!" She yells, but he doesn't answer. "Derek?" She calls, this time more concern in her voice, still no answer. "Derek, where are you?" She makes her way to the bedroom door and he pops out with his phone shining in his face.

"BOO!" He yells and she screams.

"QUIT DOING THAT!" She pushes him away and folds her arms. "Turn the lights back on."

"The power is out, they must be using, too much electricity next door, they're freaking yard is lighting up the entire block."

"That's just great." She groans making her way to the dresser using the glow of Derek's phone to guide her. She pulls out one of his old shirts and a pair of her boy short underwear. "What are we supposed to do about electricity?" She asks slipping off the tight dress and replacing it with the shirt.

"We could go to your place." He says, still holding the phone up so she can see.

"We'd never get over there with all the Halloween traffic." She slips on the boy shorts and puts her hair up in a messy bun.

"I've got some candles in the kitchen." He goes over to the night stand and pulls out a flash light and turns it on. "Here, I don't want my phone to die." He locks his phone and hands her the flashlight. "Lead the way." She takes his hand and leads him into the kitchen. She holds the flash light as he gathers up the few candles and lights them before setting the on the table.

"Why do you hate Halloween so much?" Emily asks sitting down at the table, Derek follows suit.

"I don't hate Halloween, I actually love it, I like the scary movies, the weather, all the candy. I hate things associates with Halloween like the costumes. For one day, everyone tries to be someone their not, why not just be happy with who you are."

"Whoa, a little deep there Derek." Emily smirks. "The costumes are just fun. I was a cat, do I really want to be cat, no. I just thought it'd be fun to get dressed up in a skimpy black dress and go to a party, granted my Mother's parties are not very fun."

"A politician's party, not fun? You're kidding!" He jokes and she smiles at him. "I've never like Halloween, but this year, it hasn't been so bad."

"Aww, because you're spending it with me."

"Nah, because I got to see you in a tight leather dress." He jokes.

"Hey!" She playful pushes him.

"I'm kidding." He kisses her. "Yes, because I get to spend it with you."

"That's what I thought." She kisses him. "But, if you scare me again, you'll be spending next Halloween alone"


	5. Chapter 5

**This one is a little short, but I'll be adding more to it if you guys like it and want me to continue.**

"Hey, Chocolate Thunder, I've got something for you." The colorful mess that is Garcia approaches Derek, who is sitting at his desk with a cup of coffee, with an envelope.

"What's this?" He sets his coffee cup down and takes the envelope.

"Open it."

He peals away the seal and takes the note out. 'Derek Morgan, you are invited to join us at the annual FBI auction. All the money will go to help wounded officers and the family's of those who have been killed in the line of duty. If you choose to partake in the event, you'll be item #7.' "They want people to bid on me for what?" He looks up at Garcia confused she shrugs and he continues reading. 'The person with the highest bid gets a whole night with you. 7 pm to midnight. I hope to see you there, David Rossi.' "Rossi is planning this." He gets out of his chair and makes his way to Rossi's office leaving Penelope to herself. He knocks on the older agents door, but doesn't wait toe be invited in. "What is this all about?" He steps into the room and throws the letter on his desk.

"Can't you read Morgan?" He sets his pen down and looks at the younger profiler.

"Yes I can read, but what is this all about?" He sits in the chair across from his desk.

"Well, I'm not normally the one to plan one of these, but this year they asked me to. I asked a few of the women around who they would bid on, and most of them said you. So I figured I'd at-least ask." Derek nods. "So are you going to do it?"

"Only because it's for a good cause."

Derek stands behind the curtains of the stage waiting for his turn to 'strut his stuff' down the small catwalk at the local bar Rossi rented out for this event. He sighs when they call his number. He walks up the few steps and out into the catwalk. He walks down to the edge with a smile on his face and stop just a few inches from the edge. He grabs his shirt and rips it off causing the crows to erupt into cheers. Rossi, who is off to the side with a microphone starts the bidding.

"Do I have $100? I have a hundred, what about 150?"

"200!" A girl shouts causing a battle of bids. '250!' '300!' '325!' '400!' '500!' Numerous girls yell.

"1000!" One girl yells and the crowd goes silent.

"Sold, for 1000 dollars!" Rossi says. "Congratulations." Derek tries to see the girl who just 'bought' him, but the lights are too bright. "He'll meet you at the paying booth." Derek turns and exits the stage while the mysterious woman makes her way to the bar to pay.

"I'm looking for the girl who bought #7." Derek says going up to the bar.

"She right there." Anderson, the one in charge of taking money, points to the girl. Derek turns and his face immediately lights up.

"You just paid a thousand dollars to spend time with me, even though we do it on a daily basis?" He asks approaching her.

"Them girls looked like they were going to fight to the death over you, so I thought I'd save you from having to spend time with one of them for 5 hours."

"Thanks, I appreciate it. Now I just want to go home and relax."

"Whoa, I bought you, you're mine for the next 5 hours." She takes him by the arm and leads him out of the bar. "But I suppose we could go to my place and relax."

"I like the sound of that." Derek says with a smile on his face.

"Whoa, don't get the wrong idea. We're going to watch a few movies and eat lots of junk food, then you're going to go home." Emily says unlocking her car.

"What kind of movies?" Derek asks slipping into the passenger seat.

"I don't know, you can pick." She starts the car. "We need to go to the store to get some food first." She pulls out of the parking lot and heads to the nearest food store. She shuts the car off and they get out. "So, what is Derek Morgan's guilty pleasure?" Emily asks peering at all the junk food on the aisle. He grabs a big bag of Hot Cheetos and tosses them into the basket. "Mmm, I prefer the regular ones." She grabs a bag of regular Cheetos and tosses them into the basket. "What else do I want?" She asks herself looking over all the food. "Hmm." She hums.

"Are you always this picky?" Derek asks.

"I'm not picky, just indecisive."  
"Close your eyes."  
"What?" SHe looks at him.

"Just close your eyes."

"No funny business Morgan." She says shutting her eyes. He grabs her hand, stretching out her arm and starts moving it back and forth. "What are you doing?"

"Keep going." He lets go over her hand and she keeps moving it back and forth.

"If I open my eyes and you're gone, I'm going to kick your ass."  
"Okay stop." She stops moving her hand. "Open your eyes." She opens her eyes and looks at her hand, it's pointing at a box of Oreos. "Do you like Oreos?"

"I love them." He walks over and grabs them. "Who taught you that?"

"No one, I just made it up." He tosses the box into the basket along with a few other various food items.

"We need drinks." She pushes the basket toward the drink aisle, Derek following close behind. They pick out a liter of Coke and liter of Pepsi before heading to the check out counter.

"Will that be all?" The lady asks.

"Yes." Emily says grabbing her card from her wallet.

"I..." Emily holds up her hand to stop him as she swipes her card.

"I got it." She places the card back in her wallet and puts the wallet in her purse. She the drinks and he grabs the bags of food.

"I would have paid for it."

"It's fine. You didn't want to do this in the first place, it's the least I could do."

"Emily, you spent a thousand dollars on this date, I could have paid."

"Derek, it's fine." She places the drinks in her back seat and he puts the bags next to them before getting in the car. They get to Emily's house ten minutes later and bring in all the bags. "I'm going to change, you can put in a movie and make some popcorn."

"Okay." Derek pops some popcorn in the microwave and goes into the living room and puts on _The Fast and The Furious._ He goes back into the kitchen when the microwave dings and takes out the popcorn. He pours the popcorn into a large bowl and throws the empty bag in the trash.

"Fast? Really?" Emily asks and Derek turns around, she's replaces her skirt and blazer for a pair of pajama pants and a tank top and her hair is now in a messy bun on top of her head.

"It's a good movie." He sets the bowl down on the counter.

"It is." She grabs two cups from the cupboard. "Come, we don't have forever." She grabs the bowl of popcorn and lets him grab the rest of the junk. She sets the cups and drinks down on the coffee table and sits on her couch. Derek does the same. She grabs the remote from the end table and presses play as Derek pours himself a drink. They don't talk much during the movie, just a little comment every now and then. "I swear, that movie gets better every time I watch it." Emily says standing up from the couch and stretching out her body.

"It does."

"So, do you want to watch another one?" She asks taking the movie out of the DVD player.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure? You can go home if you want?"

"I'm sure, this has been fun." Before they know it, they've watched four of the fast movies.

"My god, what time is it?" Emily asks standing up to take out the DVD.

"It's 3:28." Derek yawns.

"Are you serious?" He nods. "Whoa, I guess time got away from us." She places the DVD in its case and puts it back on the shelf.

"I guess. I'm going to go home, I'm exhausted." Derek stands.

"Why don't you stay the night? It's really late and I wouldn't want you falling asleep at the wheel."  
"I'm not going to." Derek says gathering up some the empty junk food paper.

"I'd just feel better if you weren't driving home exhausted." She says crinkling up all the chips bags into a big ball. "My guest bed is pretty comfortable." Derek follows her into the kitchen to throw the trash away.  
"I bet your bed is even more comfortable." He says tossing all the paper away.

"It is, but you'll never find out."

**I'm so sorry it took so long, my computer broke so I had to buy a new one and it was supposed to come in Monday, but it came in today. This isn't my best work, but I just wanted to give you guys something since it's been forever. I lost all of my stories, so if you guys have any ideas for a story that you'd like to see in here, let me know.**


	6. He Didn't Have to Be

**This is inspired by Brad Paisley's song He didn't have to be. If you haven't listened to it, it's a great song. **

"So Princess, when are you going to let me take you out on a date?" Morgan asks one night as he and Emily walk toward the elevator.

"When hell freezes over." She smirks.

"I'm hurt." He holds his hand to his chest. "Come on, dinner and a movie. Please?" He begs.

"Not a chance." She gets into the elevator and presses the ground floor button.

"Why not?"  
"For one, we could get fired." She states obviously. "And two I don't have time, Ethan is starting school in two weeks and we still have tons of stuff to get."  
"Fine." He gives up, once Emily has made up her mind, there is no way of changing it.

"Ethan, I'm home." Emily calls as she opens the front door of her house. He usually comes running up to her, but not tonight. "Becky?" Becky is her babysitter for when she is gone on long cases. She walks into her living room, they aren't in there. "Becky?" She calls out a little louder as she goes down the hall toward Ethan's bedroom. She opens the door and sighs with relief, he's out like a light in his bed. She walks over to him and kisses his forehead. "I missed you." She whispers before wrapping the blankets around him. She walks out and into the guest bedroom. "Becky." She shakes the girls shoulders and she springs up in bed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine. What time is it?" She asks rubbing her eyes.

"8:30." Emily says after looking at her watch. "Did he wear you out?"  
"Yeah, we had an eventful day."  
"What did you do?" She asks.

"We went to the park after lunch, got some ice-cream, had a play-date, came home, ate dinner, played outside, played inside, and he fell asleep half way through The Lion King."

"Well we have the next few days off, so I shouldn't need a sitter. You're free."  
"Awesome, I'll probably go to John's parents wedding anniversary."  
"Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that. Good timing."  
"Tell me about it. Well I'm going to go." She says getting out of bed.

"Okay, see you."  
"See you." She grabs her bag and leaves. Emily goes into the kitchen and heats up some leftover spaghetti that had made and sits down to eat. She is halfway through her meal when she hears the steps of her five-year old down the hall.

"Becky?" He calls out, but she doesn't answer. Emily waits until he gets to the kitchen and smiles when his face lights up. "MOMMY!" He squeals running the few steps into his mother's awaiting arms.

"Hey baby." She kisses his cheek. "I missed you."  
"I missed you, too."

"I heard you had a busy day." She sits back in her seat and Ethan crawls up on the chair next to her.  
"I did." He proceeds to describe his day, in detail to her.

The next day, Emily is getting Ethan ready when her doorbell rings. "Hand tight buddy." She says leaving his room and heading to the front door. She looks through the peephole before opening the door. "What are you doing here?" She asks.

"Is that anyway to greet a friend?" Morgan asks.

"What do you want Morgan?" She asks.

"I'm taking you on a date." He says.

"I told you I don't have time. We are about to leave."

"I'm coming with you." Emily groans. "Hey, it'll be fun."  
"You don't know what you're getting yourself into, do you know how hard it is to take a five-year old anywhere?"  
"No, but I'll find out."

"Well now I'm trying to get him dressed. Then I'm going to pack him a few snacks and some toys before I try to get him in the car."  
"I can make his snacks, what does he eat?" He asks coming in and closing the door.

"Grapes, carrots, Cheerios, a juice box and a bottle of water."  
"All that for a five-year old?" He asks.

"Yeah, we might be gone for a while."  
"Okay, grapes, carrots, Cheerios, juice, and water." Emily nods. "See, I got this."  
"We'll see." Emily mumbles and goes back to Ethan's room. "Guess who's coming with us." She says pulling out a shirt from his dresser.

"I don't know." He says, too engrossed in the cars he's playing with to care.  
"Derek." She says kneeling next to him.

"Dewek!" He squeals and Emily nods. "Yay!" He cheers.

"Yeah, you have to put on fresh clothes before we go." She hands him the pants and shirt for him to dress himself. He quickly sheds his pajama top and replaces it with a clean black shirt. He pulls on the fresh pants and tries to fasten them.

"Mommy help." he says lifting his shirt so she can button them. She kneels down and fastens the button and zips them up before pulling his shirt back down. "Thank you."  
"You're welcome." She kisses his cheek. "Shoes." She says standing up to grabs a pair of socks. He puts them on and ties them.

"Look, I tied them by myself!" He exclaims proudly.

"Good job!" Emily holds out her hand and he high-fives it. "Come on." She takes his hand and leads him to the kitchen.

"Dewek!" He yells when he sees him in the kitchen. He runs and wraps his arms around his knees.

"Hey!" Morgan picks up the small boy and tickles his sides causing him to erupt with laughter, this causes Emily to smile. Anytime Morgan is around Ethan always has the biggest smile on his face and Emily loved seeing them together. "I hear you're starting school in two weeks." He nods. "Wow, how cool. What grade are you going to be in?"  
"Kindergarten."  
"I remember kindergarten, you're going to love it."  
"Okay you two, we got to get going. I don't want to be out all day." Emily says grabbing the baggies of snacks and shoving them in her purse.

"Let's go then." Morgan says leading the way to the car. Emily rolls her eyes. 'What have I gotten myself into?' She asks herself as she closes her front door. Emily pulls into a parking space and looks at Morgan.

"Watch." Emily shuts off the car.

"I have to go potty." Ethan says and Emily's mouths the words with him causing Morgan to smile.

"Every time we go somewhere, the moment I shut the car off he magically has to use the bathroom." She explains. She get out of the car and unbuckles Ethan from his booster seat. They get inside and Emily finds the nearest restroom.

"I'll take him." Morgan says.

"Okay." She waits outside of the bathroom while they two boys goes inside. They come out a few minutes later and they head in the direction of the school supplies. Emily grabs the list out of her purse and starts checking things off as she puts them in her cart. "He's only going to be in kindergarten, why does he need all this stuff?" She asks throwing a box of tissues into the pile of crayons, paper, markers, etc.

"I don't know. You're lucky you only have one." He says.

"Yeah, I know." She throws a pack of colored pencils into the basket. "That's the last of the supplies." She looks at her son. "Ready to get some clothes?" She asks and he nods. "Let's go." She takes the basket to the cashier and she rings up everything and Emily pays. "I'm going to put this in the car. Can you watch him?" She asks as they leave the little shop.

"Sure." Morgan says taking a seat on a near by bench.

"Ethan, you stay with Derek, I'm going to go put these in the car."

"Okay." He crawls up on the bench next to Morgan. They watch as Emily walks off. "Where's mommy?" Ethan asks after a few minutes.

"She's coming, she's putting your school stuff in the car."  
"I want mommy." Tears start pooling in his eyes.

"Don't cry, she'll be back." That doesn't help, the first tear slips out of his eyes and them more follow. Derek scoops him and holds him close to his chest. "Shhhh." He whispers rocking him back and forth. "It's okay."

"What happened?" Emily asks worriedly as she comes up to them.

"Mommy!" Ethan exclaims, the tears quickly dry up when he sees his mom.

"He was fine for a few minutes then he just started crying." Morgan explains.

"He does that sometimes. Sorry, I should have told you."

"It's fine." Emily takes Ethan's hand and they walk to the little kid clothing store. They pick out a few outfits before checking out. "I'm getting kind of hungry." Morgan says after they exit the shop.

"I've got cheerios." Emily jokes.

"Very funny, let's go find something to eat. It's on me."

"Are you hungry?" Emily asks her son and he nods. They walk to the food court. Ethan gets McDonalds while Derek and Emily get Subway.

"Does this qualify as a date?" Morgan asks.

"No."

"Come on, we're at a mall, I bought you lunch. If we were in high-school, you'd be my girlfriend."  
"Well we're grown ups now."  
"So I need to take you to dinner?" He asks.

"It's not that simple. Not anymore." She turns her attention to Ethan. "Is that burger good?" He nods. "I can tell." She grabs a napkin from the stack in the middle of the table and wipes the ketchup from his face. Emily turns back to Morgan who has a massive grin on his face. "What?" She asks.

"Nothing, I just like seeing you like this. So what's it going to take to get a real date?" Emily shakes her head. "What?"  
"You're not going to give up are you?"  
"Not a chance."

DEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDE 

Emily is laying on her couch, Ethan next to her, watching The Lion King, Ethan's favorite movie, when the doorbell rings. "I'll be right back." Emily says getting off the couch.

"Okay." Ethan says, not really paying attention.

Emily walks to the front door and opens the door after looking through the peephole. "It's 7:30 Morgan."  
"I know." He pulls a bouquet of flowers, movie, and a bag from behind his back. "Since you won't go on a date with me, I brought the date to you." He hands her the flowers.

"Thank you." She takes them and smells them. She lets him in before closing the door. "Um, Ethan's watching a movie right now. You can go in there. I'm going to put these in water."  
"Okay." He goes into the living room with the bag and the movie while Emily goes into the kitchen.

"Dewek!" Ethan exclaims getting up from the couch.

"Hey buddy." He hugs the boy and then hands him the bag. "I bought you something."  
"A present, but it's not my birthday."  
"I know, but I bought your mommy something and I couldn't forget about you." He watches as he takes out the tissue paper and pulls out two toy cars.

"Wow, thank you!" He hugs Morgan. "Mommy, look!" He holds up the cars and Morgan turns around.

"Awesome!" She says coming over and sitting next to Ethan.

"Where's your present?"  
"It's in the kitchen."  
"What is it?"  
"Flowers."

"Why did you get Mommy a present?" He asks turning to Morgan.

"Well, I..." He pauses, 'What should I tell him?' He asks himself. "I just thought your Mom needed a present."

"Oh. Do you want to watch Lion King?" He asks.

"Of course, it's only like my favorite movie ever!"  
"Mine, too!"  
"No way!" He nods. "That's awesome." The three turn their attention to the screen and finish the movie. The credits start rolling and Emily stands up.

"Pajama time." Emily says.

"Night Dewek." He gives Morgan one final hug before bolting down the hall to his room.

Emily chuckles. "I'll be back."  
"I'll be waiting." Morgan says.  
Emily walks down the hall and into Ethan's room. She pulls out a pair of car pajamas and hands them to the young boy. He quickly changes. "Let's brush your teeth." She follows him out and into the bathroom where he brushes his teeth. They go back into his room and Emily tucks him in she reads him Peter Rabbit before kissing his forehead. "Goodnight buddy."  
"Night Mommy. I love you."  
"I love you, too." She turns on his nightlight before turning off his bedroom light and going back to the living room. "Thanks for doing that Morgan." Emily says sitting next to him. "You really made him happy."

"It was nothing."  
"It was something. I've dated before, none of them cared about Ethan the way you do, and we aren't even dating. Most of them left the moment they found out about him and if they didn't they never really cared about him. You include him and I just want to thank you for that."

"I grew up with a single mom, I know how hard it can be to not have a dad. I just want Ethan to know that he can always count on me, even if we never date, I'll still always be here."

Emily smiles at him and he smiles back. She leans in a few inches and Morgan copies her. She continues moving forward until she is an inch from his face. He closes the gap between them and her eyes flutter closed. She wraps her arms around his neck and he wraps his around her waist pulling her closer.

DEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDE DEDEDE

Ethan is standing outside of the nursery window, his newborn baby girl right in the center. He smiles as her little hand escapers from the blanket and sticks up out of the bassinet. A hand touches his shoulder and he turns his face toward his dad. "I'm proud of you." The old man whispers pulling the boy in for a hug.

"Thanks Dad." He says tears threating to escape his eyes. "I hope I'm as good of as a Dad as you are."

"You will be, trust me."

"I never thanked you. You didn't have to except me into your life, but you did, and I'm so proud to call you my Dad. I hope you know that." Morgan nods.

"I'm proud to call you my son." He punches his son's arm playfully. "We better get back to our wives before they send the militia."  
"Yeah." He takes one last look at his baby girl. He's glad that Morgan chose to except him as his son, because without him he wouldn't be half the man he is now.

**I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry if you didn't. If you want to see something written, leave a review and I will try my best to write it.**


	7. Necklace

"Em, are you almost ready?" Derek asks stepping into the bathroom. She'd been getting dressed for the last hour and is she isn't ready in 10 minutes they are going to be late for dinner at Rossi's.

"Almost, will you get my pearls from my jewelry box?" She asks.

"Yeah." Derek walks over to the small vanity in her room and opens her jewelry box. He searches through the dozens of necklaces and one catches his eye. He pulls it out and examines it. It's the necklace Ian gave her. His blood starts boiling, why did she keep this?

"Did you find them?" Emily asks sticking her head out of the bathroom. He turns around still holding the necklace.

"What the hell is this?" He lets the necklace hang from his fingers as he holds it up.

"A necklace." Emily steps fully out of the bathroom.

"It's his necklace."  
"So." Emily snatches it from his hands. "I bet you still have plenty of stuff that your ex's gave you."  
"That's different, my exs weren't terrorists and they didn't try to kill me." He was angry at her, why would she want to remember him? "Besides he's not really an ex, he was an assignment." Emily shakes her head. "It's the same. I fell in love with and I know that's hard for you to hear, but it happened. And this." She holds up the necklace. "I don't know why I keep, probably the same reason you keep that bottle of your dad's cologne. To remember him."  
"Why do you want to remember him?"  
"Because, I know this sounds bad, but Ian was a good man. When it was just the two of us, he was an amazing man and father. He treated me like a man is supposed to treat his girlfriend. I loved him, and a part of me always will."  
"Are you serious? He stabbed you in the stomach. I held your hand as you were bleeding out on the warehouse floor. I thought you were dead for 7 months, I spent everyday in agony wishing I could have at least one more day with you just to see you again and hear your voice. Now you say you love the son-of-a-bitch?"  
"Derek, I love you more that I ever loved him if that's what you're worried about."  
"If that's what you think this is about, then I'm worried about you. Em, you shouldn't want to remember him."  
"How can you tell me who I'm allowed to remember? You remember Carl?"  
"Of course I do, but not by choice."  
"You think I remember Ian by choice?"  
"Why keep the necklace?"  
Emily sets the necklace down. "It's a trophy, okay? Every time I look at it I don't see the man I loved at least not anymore, I see the man who held me in that warehouse, branded me, shoved a steak through my stomach and the one who got shot on that tarmac. Every time I see it, it reminds of house close I came to death. I beat Doyle and this is a reminder." She runs her index finger over the chain. Derek walks up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. He places a soft kiss to her exposed shoulder and she turns around. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't keep it."  
"Don't be." He moves a piece of stray hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry, I didn't have to blow up like that." He leans in and kisses her. "I love you."  
"I love you, too."


	8. Tattoo

"How's that?" The tattoo artist asks as he backs away from Derek's chest. He looks down at the clover that would soon mark his left peck and all the memories comes flooding back.

"No Emily, stay with me." He gripped her hand tight, maybe a little too tight and she squeezed his back but with a retreating grip. The top of her button down shirt was hanging open and he could see what Ian did to her. There on her left breast is a four-leaf clover.

"Derek?" The guys voice brings him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry." he shakes his head and wipes the moisture from his eyes. "It's good."

"Okay." The guys gets his gun ready and Derek lays back. The needle touches his skin and Derek shuts his eyes.

_"Everyone meet Agent Prentiss?" Hotch asked walking briskly into the room._

_"The other day." Penelope said._

_"I've been filling her in on protocol." JJ said._

_Derek stood up and outstretched his hand. "Derek Morgan."_  
_"Emily.. Prentiss." She shook his hand._

_"We can make nice later." Hotch said. Everyone took a seat and they began going over their case._

_"I think I totally screwed up this date. You've got to understand... I'm a nerd." Derek laughed. "Like, seriously! And I can fool people for days, weeks even, but sooner or later I blow my cover and say something so geek, and then he doesn't respond, and I lose all confidence."_  
_"Well what did you say?"_  
_"I said... Kilgore Trout."_  
_"The guy has a problem with Kurt Vonnegut?"_

_"You know Kilgore Trout?"_  
_"I read slaughterhouse 5 when I was 12, it blew my mind. Seriously, I just couldn't get enough. So I kept going and read 'em all."_  
_"Yeah, yeah, me too! What's your favorite?"_

_"Oh, Mother Night."_  
_"The one about the American spy!"_  
_"Who pretends to be a Nazi."_  
_"YOu are who you pretend to be-"_  
_"So be careful who you pretend to be."_  
_"Oh, my god! I can't believe you're a Vonnegut fan. You just made my day!"_  
_"Anytime." That was the first time he had an real conversation with Emily, he couldn't believe anyone could actual not be interested in, despite what she reads or how nerdy she is._

_Derek took Emily's hand as they walked through the mall, they went to the movies and had dinner at the food court and were making their way out. "Sorry the date wasn't so romantic." He said_

_"I had fun." She smiles at him. "Sorry we got a case and ruined your plans. You still had fun right?"_  
_"Yeah." Derek drover her back to her place and walked her to the door._

_"Who knew Derek Morgan was such a gentleman." She joked. "Thanks Derek, I really had a great time."_  
_"Next time I'll take you on a grown up date." She laughs. The laugh is what got him, it was infectious it made him want to get down on one knee right there, but instead he kissed her. When they spilt apart her cheek were light pink and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth._

_"Do you want to come in?" She asked and he nodded. That was their first date._

_"Emily." He gently shakes Emily's shoulders and she groans. "Wake up."_  
_"The alarm hasn't gone off." SHe pulls the covers up higher over her head._

_"I made you breakfast."_  
_"Leave me alone."_  
_"Come on." he set the tray down and tickled her side. Emily pushed his hands away._

_"Stop!" She snapped and pulled the covers around her tighter._

_"Geez, what's wrong with you?"_  
_"Oh, I don't know. Maybe someone's dog wouldn't let me sleep last night because it had to be right in my face."_  
_"He likes you."_  
_"I don't care. This is why I hate staying over here."_  
_"Then don't." He got off the bed and went into the bathroom. Emily groaned and kicked the covers off before getting out of bed. They got dressed and went to work separately._

_"A romantic opportunity may experience a slight hitch thanks to the pesky lunar influence that could have you dipping into a rather chilly mood. If being demonstrative and warm is difficult then you neutralize this temporary cold front with a simple but affectionate gesture." Penelope read off from the news paper which made Derek think back to early that morning to their first fight._

_"I love you." The words just rolled off his tongue, he didn't wait for a special occasion. It was a Saturday night and they were at her apartment watching movies. She had picked out a comedy and she was laughing when he said it. She had stopped laughing and looked him straight in the eyes and he was about to take it back._

_"I love you, too." She said and his heart started beating normally again._

"All done." The artist says and Derek opens his eyes.

"Already?" He asks looking down at his chest and sure enough the clover is finished.

"Yeah." Derek gets out of the chair and goes to the long mirror across the room to look at it. He brings his hand up and caresses the slightly puffed skin.

"This is for you Princess." He whispers holding his hand over his heart.

**Hope you guys liked it! The next chapter will be Emily seeing the tattoo when she returns.**


	9. Buford

Emily knew something was wrong when Derek didn't come home. She watched his speech on the news and knew it was tough on him. He never spoke about Buford, to anyone except his councilor. So Emily knew it had to be the toughest thing he's done. That's why she's out at one o'clock in the morning driving to his newest property. She parks out side and can see that lights on in what she thinks is the living room. She shuts the engine off and gets out of her car. She walks up the little path to the front door and twists the handle of the front door, it was unlocked. He never worked with the door unlocked, he said it wasn't safe. She takes a deep breath before pushing the front door open. She walks down the short hallway and into the living room. Derek is dripping with sweat as he hits the sledge hammer against the wall, his shirt was thrown on the floor and his pants were replaced with old basketball shorts. She waits until he takes a break to wipe the sweat from his forehead to speak. "You didn't come home." Her voice startles him and he physically jumps, another sign he wasn't doing well, Derek Morgan never jumped, he was trained not to.

"It's late you should be home." He picks the sledge-hammer back up.

"So should you." She walks over and takes the hammer from him. "I watched the news." She sets the hammer on the floor out of his reach. He sighs as he wipes more sweat from his face. "Do you want to talk about it?" He shakes his head. "You know I'm always here for you right?"  
"I know. I just don't want to talk about it." He looks at the wall that he is slowly tearing down. "I'm taking the hallway out."  
"I see that." Emily nods looking at the mess of sheet rock and electrical wires.

"How did you know I was here?" He asks.

"I didn't, I mean I knew you had to be here or the gym. I checked here first."

Derek wraps Emily in a hug and buries his face in her neck. Emily can feel his hot tears burning her neck and seeping into the fabric of her sweater. She wraps her arms around his strong frame and squeezes him tight. "He's dead."

"Burford?" She asks and he nods against her neck. "How do you feel?"  
"I'm not really sure." He shrugs. "I saw him in prison."  
"What?"  
"I had to, we needed names of the kids he molested."

"Hotch made you see him?"  
"No, it was my idea. We were getting no where we needed the names."  
"How are you feeling?" She asks. She knew after every counseling session he'd get sick, he'd have an upset stomach for a few days, she couldn't imagine how he felt now.

"My stomach hurts like a bitch, I threw up after I spoke with him and it's been hurting ever since."

"That's it?" He nods, she knows he's lying. "Then why are you out here at one a.m. tearing down walls?" He shrugs. "You can talk to me."  
"I know."  
"So talk."  
"I can't sleep, I'm afraid I'll dream about him and once I do I'll be able to feel him touch me again. I don't think I can go through this again."  
"You can't do your body like this forever. You're going to sleep eventually and when you do, I'll be there when you wake up. No matter what Buford did to you, he can't take that away from you."

"What if I don't make it through this? What if I'm stuck dreaming about him and feeling his touch until I die? I thought I was over this two years ago, I guess I was wrong."

"You'll never be completely over this, it's part of who you are, but it's up to you to let it strengthen you or let it break you down."  
DEDEDEDEDEDEDE

Emily wakes up a few hours later to Derek tossing and turning. She was finally able to convince him to come home and they went straight to bed. She turns on her lamp and gently shakes his shoulders. "Derek, wake up, it's just a dream." He gasps as he sits up in bed his hand to his chest and his eyes wide open. "It's okay." She wraps her arms around him. "It was just a dream." Derek turns so they are facing each other and hugs Emily tighter. They stay like that for a few minutes until Derek lets her go. He lays back down and Emily lays her head on his chest. His hand is resting on his chest, right above his heart and Emily sets hers on top of his. She hates seeing him likes this but he is going to get better, she is going to make sure of that.


	10. reaction

After Emily's return, things between Derek and her changed. They were still dating, but it was like they weren't. Before her 'death' they would always spend the night together, either and Derek's place or hers, but now they rarely were together except for work. The few times they did Emily would always go back to her place or insist that Derek go home. Derek was tired of it.

They are lounging on Derek's couch when Emily sits up. "I should go." She says standing up.

"You know you can stay the night right?"  
"I know, but we've been through this. It's going to take time for things to go back to normal."  
"It's been three months Emily." She groans and sits back down. "I know you need time and I respect that, but we've literaly made no improvement. Do you not want to be together?"  
"It's not that, you know I love you." She looks down at the floor and Derek raises her face to look at him.

"Tell me what's wrong."  
"I don't want to stay the night because you'll see my scars." She says unconsciously putting her arms around her stomach.  
"Is that it?" Emily nods. "Those scars aren't going to change my opinion of you."  
"I know."  
"I'll still love you."  
"I know."  
"Then why can't I see?"  
"Because they're ugly."  
"They're not ugly."  
"I'm trying to find a good plastic surgeon to fix them."  
"Fix them? You're not broken."  
"Please, I just don't want you to see them okay?"  
"I need to show you something." He pulls off his shirt and turns toward Emily, he hands immediately go to the new tattoo on his chest.

"Why would you do that?" She traces the outline of the clover.

"I got it for you. When I found you on the warehouse floor I could see it and after your funeral I went to get this." He puts his hand over hers. "Your scars aren't ugly. They are proof that you survived." He kisses her cheek. "Please stay?"  
"I can't believe you did that. That's permanent Derek."  
"I know."  
"You can never get rid of that."  
"Then I guess you should keep yours so I didn't do this for nothing." Emily smiles at him.

"That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me." She kisses him. "I love you."  
"I love you too." He pulls away. "So does that mean you'll stay?"

"I'll stay."


End file.
